If you’ve been following the Tizen news closely, you might recall Docomo features on a relatively long list of backers, which also includes Orange, Panasonic, Sprint and Vodafone.

As 2012 took its dying breath, the site screamed: “Samsung will probably begin selling the smartphones next year and they are likely to be released in Japan and other countries at around the same time, according to sources.”

Tizen was first announced way back in September 2011. Check it: “Tizen will support multiple device categories, such as smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks, and in-vehicle infotainment devices.

“The Linux Foundation will host the project, where Tizen development will be completely open and led by a technical steering team composed of Intel and Samsung.”

The Samsung/Tizen Mobile World Congress speculation appears to be just that, as Daily Yomiuri Online makes no mention of MWC. Still, with Tizen being in the pipeline for so bloomin’ long, it’s about time we saw something tangible.